SHI to work with Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) to
address matter this week
Award-winning Tlingit carver
Archie Cavanaugh is still reeling from federal charges that threatened to
imprison him for 10 years and impose a $100,000 fine—all because he put feathers
on his work.
Cavanaugh says he did not
know he was prohibited by two federal laws from using flicker feathers and
raven feathers on pieces for sale, and he wants other Native artists to know
they could be in legal peril as well.
“It was devastating, it was
depressive. It was hurtful, painful, for a carver—a Tlingit—to go through what
I did, not knowing it was a law,” Cavanaugh said.
SHI is working with the
Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) to introduce a resolution on the matter at
its convention this week. The resolution would support a federal amendment to
exempt Native handicrafts from the prohibition on the sale or purchase of
nonedible parts of migratory birds that were taken for subsistence
purposes, said SHI President Rosita Worl. It would be almost identical to an
exemption in the handicraft language in the Marine Mammals Protection Act, Worl
said. A federal policy announced last week by the U.S. Dept. of Justice is a
step in the right direction, but the sale of Native art adorned with feathers
of federally protected birds is still prohibited, she said.
“So many of our people use
these materials and they’re not aware that selling them is prohibited. The use
of flicker feathers is an ancient practice,” said Worl. “And as far as we’re
aware, flicker feathers come from birds that are not endangered.”
Cavanaugh’s ordeal began when
an agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently contacted him, saying
the artist could face prison time and substantial fines because he was
attempting to sell online a shakee.át (headdress) adorned with flicker feathers
and a hat that had raven feathers on it. He says a farmer in the Lower 48 gave
the flicker feathers to him and an animal control officer gave the raven
feathers to him.
Cavanaugh faced charges under
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for attempted sale of the flicker feathers and
under the Lacey Act for attempted sale of the raven feathers. He hired a lawyer
and settled the case in October, agreeing to pay a $2,000 fine with no prison
time. He also was forced to strip the feathers from his pieces and hand them
over to the agency.
Cavanaugh says he complied to
avoid prison time and a financially devastating fine, but he doesn’t understand
why he isn’t allowed to sell especially items adorned with flicker feathers,
which are found on ancient pieces. A revered Tlingit carver from Wrangell named
Kaajisduáx.ch (Man For You To Hear*) sold such pieces, he said.
“He
came from Wrangell all through Southeast doing all kinds of art projects for
people, for tribes, for clans and he never did it for free. He was always paid
tináa (copper shields),” he said.
“We as carvers carve shakee.áts,
carve hats for our people to use in Indian dances, to use for ceremonial
gatherings, to use when our people pass away that the opposite clans can meet,”
he said.
“I’m just hoping Don Young,
Murkowski, Begich will address this with our help, with AFN’s help, that they
can put an amendment to this act that will give us the right to be Native
people, to create artifacts that have been done for 10,000 years.”
The practice also would help
Native people in economically depressed communities earn an income, Worl said.
Sealaska Heritage Institute was founded in 1980 to promote cultural
diversity and cross-cultural understanding. The institute is governed by a
Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars. Its mission
is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of
Southeast Alaska.
CONTACT: Rosita Worl, SHI
president, 907-463-4844; Archie Cavanaugh, Tlingit artist, 907-790-3669
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